Watching this concert, I’m surprised how well developed Green Day was in High School. All the elements that brought them fame were pretty much all there; the hooks, attitude and songwriting. All they needed was more experience and they would go on to sell millions of CDs.

I was wondering when the next Metamoris event would be taking place and found out that former Metamoris competitor AJ Agazarm posted a rant about not being paid to their official Instagram page. If this is true this is a huge black eye for Metamoris that as of this time Ralek Gracie hasn’t directly responded to so he will need to do a lot of damage control. I love the idea of Metamoris but it may have been hurt by it growing too fast too soon and not having the infrastructure to grow accordingly. Let’s hope they figure things out quickly so we can have great grappling matches like the one with Dean Lister and Josh Barnett.

Update 1/16/16: Metamoris has removed the post and Ralek Gracie has addressed this issue on his Instagram page (see bottom of entry).

From the Metamoris Instagram website:

Dear Ralek,
For quite sometime you have been using my image, my likeness, and the likenesses of others to promote your business and the brand of Metamoris. You claim to represent the values that Jiu Jitsu stands for, but you have been hiding behind empty promises.
It has been over 6 months since my bout against Karo Parisyan, and I still haven’t been paid. It’s not about the money (it wasn’t a lot) but instead it is about the principle. We put everything on the line to make it as exciting and entertaining as possible for the fans. I took the match on short notice to help save your show, as you would otherwise have been left without a main event. To this date my match is still behind your paywall and I have not yet seen a single dollar.
Since this match I have competed in organizations such as Polaris and Berkut, who paid my travel expenses, did an incredible job of promoting me as an athlete, but most importantly upheld the moral code of the artist and treated me and the community with respect by paying me on time and not compromising the cards of the viewers.
I think it is massively unjust that your brand equity continues to ascend by using the image of the athletes that you promised to pay (but do not) while organizations such as Polaris are struggling with brand recognition and event success.
The last Polaris card was one of the best the community has ever seen and not just for the quality of the match ups. They paid all their athletes (plus expenses) and did not make a profit. This is elevating the sport and allowing us athletes to make a living.
It’s been 6 months – you haven’t paid me, you promised me an additional bout on Metamoris that I have not seen, yet you still benefit from using our fight to promote your show.
Make this right. Stop double charging your customers and pay your athletes. The Instagram takeover will continue until you’ve done right.
On April 2nd I will face Ben Askren in a sub-only match in the UK for @polaris_professional. I am looking forward to this match for a number of reasons, but mainly because I am getting the opportunity to showcase my skills against a very tough opponent in a clash of styles. -@thefloridaboy”

Wicked Lair is just the kind of old school tower defense game that I love. I’ve always liked games I could set up and walk away from and see if my design would last without my help. Set in the old D&D style world, Wicked Lair launches heroes against your dungeon and you have to create a lair that can stand repeated attacks. It gets tougher in later levels when the combined attacks of the heroes starts to tear through your defenses. It’s free right now so you don’t have any excuse to not give it a try.